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On the probability of covering the circle by random arcs

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  14 July 2016

F. W. Huffer*
Affiliation:
Florida State University
L. A. Shepp*
Affiliation:
AT & T Bell Laboratories
*
Postal address: Department of Statistics, Florida State University, Tallahassee, FL 32306-3033, USA.
∗∗Postal address: AT & T Bell Laboratories, 600 Mountain Avenue, Murray Hill, NJ 07974, USA.

Abstract

Arcs of length lk, 0 < lk < 1, k = 1, 2, ···, n, are thrown independently and uniformly on a circumference having unit length. Let P(l1, l2, · ··, ln) be the probability that is completely covered by the n random arcs. We show that P(l1, l2,· ··, ln) is a Schur-convex function and that it is convex in each argument when the others are held fixed.

Type
Research Papers
Copyright
Copyright © Applied Probability Trust 1987 

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Footnotes

Research supported by Office of Naval Research Contract N00014-76-C-0475.

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